.gif)
Battle of the Dunes (1658)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Dunes, fought on 14 June (Gregorian calendar), 1658, is also known as the Battle of Dunkirk. It was a victory of the French
army, under Turenne
, against the Spanish
army, led by John of Austria the Younger
and Louis II de Condé. It was part of the Franco-Spanish War
and the concurrent Anglo-Spanish War
, and was fought near Dunkirk.
A Spanish army of about 15,000 men was divided in 2 corps, the Spanish Army of Flanders
on the right and the small corps of French rebels, of the Fronde
, on the left under the command of Condé. The Spanish corps included a force of 2,000 English/Irish Royalists – formed as the nucleus of potential army for the invasion of England by Charles II, with Charles' brother James, Duke of York
, amongst its commanders – was sent to relieve the town.
under the leadership of Sir William Lockhart
, Cromwell's ambassador at Paris
, in Turenne's army astonished both armies by the stubborn fierceness of their assaults particularly with a successful assault up a sand-hill 50 metres (150 ft) high and strongly defended by Spanish veterans .
The battle lasted for about two hours and ended with a rout of the Spanish forces, who lost about 6,000 killed, wounded, and captured with their opponents losing about 400. The French corps of rebels on the left under the command of Condé retreated in good order.
Oliver Cromwell
formed an alliance with France's Louis XIV
, the exiled Charles II of England
allied himself with Philip IV of Spain
. Charles set up his headquarters in Bruges
. The Spanish supplied only enough money to form five regiments. This was a disappointment for the Royalists who had hoped to be able to form an army large enough to contemplate an invasion of the English Commonwealth. The Grenadier Guards
can trace their origins back to Lord Wentworth's
Royal Regiment of Guards
which was one of five regiments raised in 1656. The Life Guards
can trace their origins back to two cavalry troops raised at this time His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards and The Duke of York's Troop of Horse Guards.
English regiments were named after their colonels. In the French army the New Model Army on the left (by the coast): Cochrane, Alsop, Lillington and Morgan, on the right 200 Montgommery musketeers. Cavalry: Lockhart, Gibbons and Salmo In the Spanish army, the English/Irish royalist consisted of three battalions made up of five understrength regiments: The first battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Blague, of Lord Bristol's
regiment combined with Lord Wentworth's regiment
(also known as King Charles II's footguards). The second battalion was command by Lord Muskerry and consisted of the Duke of York's regiment. The third consisted of Lord Ormond's regiment of Irish commanded by Colonel Richard Grace
, and Lord Newburgh's
regiment of Scots under the command of Sir William Urry.
Amongst the Cromwellian troops Lockhart's regiment of foot bore the brunt of the fighting. Its lieutenant-colonel, Fenwick, and two of its captains were killed, and nearly all the rest of its officers were wounded. Lillingston's lost a captain and thirty or forty killed, while the other regiments suffered only slight losses. On the other side two out of the three royalist battalions were almost annihilated. The King's footguards stood their ground well, but were finally obliged to surrender. Bristol's and York's Irish regiments were routed and cut to pieces. Only the third battalion, commanded by Colonel Grace, succeeded in effecting an orderly retreat, and marched off the field intact. The Duke of York's troop of guards, which charged several times with the Duke himself at its head, suffered severely, but also remained fit for further service. The King's forces after the battle numbered less than a thousand men, probably not more than seven or eight hundred.
and handed the port over to the Commonwealth.
The campaign of the English contingent in Flanders did not end with the battle of the Dunes and the capture of Dunkirk. Part of the English contingent was left to garrison Dunkirk and Mardyke under the command of Sir William Lockhart, whilst the rest, under Sir Thomas Morgan, continued to serve with Turenne's army in the field. Morgan's command consisted of four regiments, viz. his own, and those of Cochrane, Clarke, and Lillingston. They distinguished themselves at the siege of Bergues, where Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes of Cochrane's regiment was killed, and still more at the siege of Ypres, according to Morgan's own story. At the close of the campaign, by which time their numbers were much diminished, they did not rejoin the rest of the English contingent but went into cantonment
in and around Amiens for the winter.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
army, under Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
, against the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
army, led by John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only natural son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and trained for military command and political administration...
and Louis II de Condé. It was part of the Franco-Spanish War
Franco-Spanish War (1653)
The Franco-Spanish War was a military conflict that was the result of French involvement in the Thirty Years' War. After Swedish allies were forced to seek terms with the Holy Roman Empire, First Minister, Cardinal Richelieu declared war on Spain because French territory was now surrounded by the...
and the concurrent Anglo-Spanish War
Anglo-Spanish War (1654)
The Anglo-Spanish War was a conflict between the English Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell and Spain, between 1654 and 1660. It was caused by commercial rivalry. Each side attacked the other's commercial and colonial interests in various ways such as privateering and naval expeditions. In 1655, an...
, and was fought near Dunkirk.
Prelude
The 18,000 French supported by 3,000 troops from the English Commonwealth besieged Dunkirk's garrison of about 3,000 in May 1658.A Spanish army of about 15,000 men was divided in 2 corps, the Spanish Army of Flanders
Army of Flanders
The Army of Flanders was a Spanish Habsburg army based in the Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longest standing army of the period, being in continuous service from 1567 until its disestablishment in 1706...
on the right and the small corps of French rebels, of the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
, on the left under the command of Condé. The Spanish corps included a force of 2,000 English/Irish Royalists – formed as the nucleus of potential army for the invasion of England by Charles II, with Charles' brother James, Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, amongst its commanders – was sent to relieve the town.
Battle
Leaving some men to continue the siege, Turenne advanced to meet the Spanish army. The battle on 14 June 1658 which resulted from this manoeuvre, became known in England as the Battle of the Dunes because the red-coats of the New Model ArmyNew Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
under the leadership of Sir William Lockhart
William Lockhart of Lee
Sir William Lockhart of Lee , after fighting on the side of Charles I in the English Civil War, attached himself to Oliver Cromwell, whose niece he married, and who later appointed Lockhart commissioner for the administration of justice in Scotland in 1652...
, Cromwell's ambassador at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in Turenne's army astonished both armies by the stubborn fierceness of their assaults particularly with a successful assault up a sand-hill 50 metres (150 ft) high and strongly defended by Spanish veterans .
The battle lasted for about two hours and ended with a rout of the Spanish forces, who lost about 6,000 killed, wounded, and captured with their opponents losing about 400. The French corps of rebels on the left under the command of Condé retreated in good order.
English involvement
When the Lord ProtectorLord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
formed an alliance with France's Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, the exiled Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
allied himself with Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
. Charles set up his headquarters in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
. The Spanish supplied only enough money to form five regiments. This was a disappointment for the Royalists who had hoped to be able to form an army large enough to contemplate an invasion of the English Commonwealth. The Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
can trace their origins back to Lord Wentworth's
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth, KB, PC was an English soldier and politician who supported King Charles I in the English Civil War....
Royal Regiment of Guards
Lord Wentworth's Regiment
Lord Wentworth's Regiment was a regiment of infantry raised during the exile of King Charles II during the Interregnum. Formed as the Royal Regiment of Guards in 1656 at Bruges under the command of the Earl of Rochester, it was made up of men who remained loyal to the King and had followed him...
which was one of five regiments raised in 1656. The Life Guards
Life Guards (British Army)
The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army and with the Blues and Royals, they make up the Household Cavalry.They originated in the four troops of Horse Guards raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards which were raised some...
can trace their origins back to two cavalry troops raised at this time His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards and The Duke of York's Troop of Horse Guards.
English regiments were named after their colonels. In the French army the New Model Army on the left (by the coast): Cochrane, Alsop, Lillington and Morgan, on the right 200 Montgommery musketeers. Cavalry: Lockhart, Gibbons and Salmo In the Spanish army, the English/Irish royalist consisted of three battalions made up of five understrength regiments: The first battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Blague, of Lord Bristol's
George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol
George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the House of Lords...
regiment combined with Lord Wentworth's regiment
Lord Wentworth's Regiment
Lord Wentworth's Regiment was a regiment of infantry raised during the exile of King Charles II during the Interregnum. Formed as the Royal Regiment of Guards in 1656 at Bruges under the command of the Earl of Rochester, it was made up of men who remained loyal to the King and had followed him...
(also known as King Charles II's footguards). The second battalion was command by Lord Muskerry and consisted of the Duke of York's regiment. The third consisted of Lord Ormond's regiment of Irish commanded by Colonel Richard Grace
Richard Grace
Colonel Richard Grace was an Irish Royalist soldier who fought for Charles I, Charles II and James II.-Biography:Grace the younger son of Robert Grace, Baron of Courtstown, was born the early part of the 17th century, of a Kilkenny family that may have been descended from Odo, Count of Champagne...
, and Lord Newburgh's
James Levingston, 1st Earl of Newburgh
James Livingston, 1st Earl of Newburgh was a Scottish peer.He succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet, styled "of Kinnaird", in 1628, and in 1647, as Sir James Livingston of Kinnaird, 2nd Baronet, was created Viscount of Newburgh in the Peerage of Scotland with remainder to the heirs male of his body...
regiment of Scots under the command of Sir William Urry.
Amongst the Cromwellian troops Lockhart's regiment of foot bore the brunt of the fighting. Its lieutenant-colonel, Fenwick, and two of its captains were killed, and nearly all the rest of its officers were wounded. Lillingston's lost a captain and thirty or forty killed, while the other regiments suffered only slight losses. On the other side two out of the three royalist battalions were almost annihilated. The King's footguards stood their ground well, but were finally obliged to surrender. Bristol's and York's Irish regiments were routed and cut to pieces. Only the third battalion, commanded by Colonel Grace, succeeded in effecting an orderly retreat, and marched off the field intact. The Duke of York's troop of guards, which charged several times with the Duke himself at its head, suffered severely, but also remained fit for further service. The King's forces after the battle numbered less than a thousand men, probably not more than seven or eight hundred.
Aftermath
The defeat of the Spanish Army ended the immediate prospect of the intended Royalist expedition to England, while delaying the return of the English monarchy for two more years and at the same time necessarily entailed the fall of Dunkirk. It surrendered ten days after the battle on June 24, and Cardinal Mazarin honoured the terms of the treaty with Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and handed the port over to the Commonwealth.
The campaign of the English contingent in Flanders did not end with the battle of the Dunes and the capture of Dunkirk. Part of the English contingent was left to garrison Dunkirk and Mardyke under the command of Sir William Lockhart, whilst the rest, under Sir Thomas Morgan, continued to serve with Turenne's army in the field. Morgan's command consisted of four regiments, viz. his own, and those of Cochrane, Clarke, and Lillingston. They distinguished themselves at the siege of Bergues, where Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes of Cochrane's regiment was killed, and still more at the siege of Ypres, according to Morgan's own story. At the close of the campaign, by which time their numbers were much diminished, they did not rejoin the rest of the English contingent but went into cantonment
Cantonment
A cantonment is a temporary or semi-permanent military or police quarters. The word cantonment is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district, as is the name of the Cantons of Switzerland. In South Asia, the term cantonment also describes permanent military stations...
in and around Amiens for the winter.